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(originally posted on November 5, 2006)
I bow down to the brilliance, the nihilism and the audacity of Manchette's tightly coiled noir novel, a huge hit in France when published 25 years ago and destined to live on as one of the subgenre's classics. At times I gasped, other times I flinched, and occasionally I even came close to tears and laughter, sometimes all at once. All this in 150 pages. Wow.
(originally posted on November 5, 2006)
There are so many reasons to treasure this heartbreaking debut novel: the searingly perfect voice of Baby, 12 years old and coming of age in a vortex of doom and calamity that will either suck her up completely or make her stronger; the 80s Montreal setting; but most of all, O'Neill's finely calibrated, mordantly funny prose style which is destined for even greater things. This one will stay with you for a great deal of time.
(originally posted on November 5, 2006)
After a long hiatus, Spring returns with a nervy standalone set in the eerie quiet of London at night, as Ellie Porter returns to work, to sanity and to equilibrium as the titular Night Lawyer. But someone's watching, threatening to bring her shadowy past to brutal life. Spring develops all facets of Ellie's personality and moves things along so briskly that only do the pieces come fully together after the book's done - and the impact is that much more forceful.
(originally posted on November 5, 2006)
The best part of Schwegel's second novel is how unabashedly <i>male</i> it is, from the copspeak to rookie officer Ray Weiss's internal monologues to his occasional missteps and fumblings with women. Add a cauldron of hazing ritual, robbery gone wrong, family expectation and the possibility of redemption and the end result is a damn fine crime novel - one that builds up hopes of even greater work from the Edgar-winning author.
(originally posted on November 5, 2006)
As good as RAIN DOGS was, this one is, well, in a whole different league. Matthew Worth was once a cop, but now he's packing groceries at the local supermarket, falling for a girl with trouble written all over her, and soon in deep with all sorts of craziness from a body in a trunk to corrupt police officers to an ever-increasing number of secrets. Things spin gloriously out of control for Worth but never for Doolittle, who is in absolute command of every element and infuses this novel with a strong sense of wistfulness. Read it soon. Hell, read it now.
(originally posted on October 24, 2006)
Before Dennis Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER, before George Pelecanos's DC Chronicles and before THE WIRE, there was Richard Price, chronicling life on the streets with devastating and vociferous impact. Even though the novel's set in the late 80s, its core truths - that giving significance to a single murder is an uphill battle, that the line between both sides of the law is far finer and far grayer than we hope - still ring true, and will for decades to come. It is, in short, required reading.
(originally posted on October 24, 2006)
Why is the memoir so perfectly suited to graphic novel format? Maybe because, as Bechdel brilliantly demonstrates here, the blend of witty drawings and understated prose brings a truly bittersweet, honestly rendered personal history to vivid life. She doesn't invite pity or pathos, but only celebration of making the tragicomic best of a truly unusual situation. Amazing stuff, really.
(originally posted on October 24, 2006)
Sometimes it is the greatest pleasure to discover a book years after everyone else does. Because this way I can proselytize to a new crowd who, like me, may not have heard of such a wonderful gem. In just 93 pages, Rice manages to create a whole world of innocence, imagination and heartbreak that is impossible to forget once complete. Buy a copy and feel your heart touched in the most genuine, wonderful way.
(originally posted on October 24, 2006)
My goodness. Mieville's breakout "Weird Fiction" is occasionally imperfect and perhaps a bit too long, but the scope, the imagination, the level of detail and imagery so vivid you could truly smell the rancid air and feel a dark landscape grow even darker is just phenomenal. And maybe I'm just not reading the right SF/F books but it's great to read one so rooted in the modern, even as it's a throwback to an earlier time.
